Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.16.32
Āśraya· The supreme shelterRespect the Lord’s Expansions
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, Lord Śiva, or Rudra, who are the reservoir of all potencies, the reservoir of all knowledge, and the master of everyone.”
What the purport teaches
- The prayer offers respectful obeisances to Lord Śiva, or Rudra, as the reservoir of all potencies and knowledge, and the master of everyone.
- Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that one offers obeisances to an expansion or incarnation of the Lord.
- Lord Śiva is the incarnation of ignorance, one of the material modes of nature.
Try this today
Read this prayer once and respectfully acknowledge Lord Śiva as an incarnation of the Lord.
Ask yourself
How does understanding Lord Śiva as an incarnation of the Lord guide my respect for him?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.